Pagani Automobili S.p.A. is an
Italian manufacturer of sports cars and
carbon fibre. The company was founded in 1992 by the Italian Argentinian Horacio Pagani, and is based in San Cesario sul Panaro, near Modena, Italy.

BACKGROUND

Horacio Pagani, who formerly managed Lamborghini's composites, founded Pagani Composite Research in 1988. This new company worked with
Lamborghini on numerous projects, including the restyling of the 25th Anniversary Countach, the Lamborghini LM002, the P140 design concept, and the Diablo. In the late 1980s, Pagani began designing his own car, then referred to as the "C8 Project". Pagani planned to rename the C8 the "Fangio F1" to honour his friend, the five-time Argentinian Formula One champion Juan Manuel Fangio.

In 1991 Pagani established Modena Design to meet the increasing demand for his design, engineering, and prototyping services. In 1992, he began construction of a Fangio F1 prototype, and by 1993, the car was being tested at the Dallara wind tunnel with positive results. In 1994, Mercedes-Benz agreed to supply Pagani with V12
engines. The cost of these cars are at a total of 2.3 million dollars.

The final car was named the Zonda C12; the Fangio F1 name was dropped out of respect for Fangio, who died in 1995. It was first presented at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show.

In 2005, Pagani announced that it planned to triple its production output within the next three years, and to enter the
US market in 2007.

On 26 July 2010, Pagani claimed a new record for production based cars using the Pagani Zonda R and completing the Nürburgring in 6:47, beating the Ferrari 599XX.

DAIMLER & MERCEDES AMG

While it is an independent company, Pagani has a working relationship with Daimler AG, most notably, with
Mercedes' AMG arm. This is partly due to the fact that Fangio had suggested that Pagani approach Mercedes. The Zonda has used increasingly advanced versions of the M120 V12; the initial version displaced 6.0L, but later Zondas used a 7.3L engine, while the series ending Zonda R and it's two other variants (R Evolution and R Revolución) rounded off the Zonda series using a race tuned version of the same 6.0L M120 engine used in the first versions of the Zonda. Pagani has also assisted in the development of the
Chrysler ME Four-Twelve. The M158 engine for the Pagani Huayra is a bespoke engine produced just for Pagani. Mercedes-Benz revised this engine in order to reduce turbo lag and improve response. This resulted in new exhaust headers, new pistons, a new intake manifold, as well as new turbochargers.

ZONDA

The Pagani Zonda debuted in 1999, and production ended in 2011, with three special edition cars, the Zonda 760RS, Zonda 760LH and the Zonda 764 Passione, being produced in 2012. By June 2009, 135 Zondas had been built, including test mules. Both 2-door coupe and roadster versions have been produced. Construction is mainly of carbon fiber.

Some of the early Zonda engineering was done by Formula One champion Juan Manuel Fangio. The car was originally to be named the "Fangio F1" after him but, following his death in 1995, it was renamed for an air current above Argentina.

HUAYRA

The Pagani Huayra was officially debuted online with many pictures in a press release on January 25, 2011. The official world debut was at the Geneva Auto Salon 2011 in March. It is the successor to the Pagani Zonda. It is named Huayra after the Incan god of wind. Pagani expects to build no more than 40 each year and each will sell for £1,000,000. The engine is a M158 twin-turbo 6.0 Litre V12 from Mercedes' AMG division producing 720 horsepower (537 kW) and 1,000 N·m (740 lb·ft) of torque. The Huayra's main body is made from carbontanium (a mix of carbon fiber and titanium, also very light). The Huayra has been redesigned from the ground up, but shares many visual qualities with the outgoing Zonda. The top speed has gone up from the 220 mph (350 km/h) ( set by the Zonda F Roadster ) to 235 mph (378 km/h), and the 0–100 km/h time is 3.2 seconds. When the car was driven round the Top Gear test track by The Stig it set a lap time of 1:13.8, making it the fastest road car round the track.

It is named after Wayra Tata, which means "God of the winds" in Quechua, the official language of the Inca Empire. The Huayra was named "The Hypercar of the Year 2012" by Top Gear magazine and received a very positive review when tested by Richard Hammond on
Top Gear.